PC:Mervin (evilbob)
Summary Fluff Background Mervin's memories of life before a few years ago are unfortunately quite foggy. He recalls growing up in a great city called Letheon in a land far away, being a powerful mage, and mastering great power - but the rest of his memories are generally scattered and jagged, and never seem to quite fit together in his mind. One of the last major things he remembers is the outbreak of a war, and fighting in a battle. There were spells, and explosions, and a tentacle-faced monster casting something unfamiliar... And then several years later he woke up in the middle of the woods. Spending time getting his bearings, he gradually remembered enough of his previous skill to begin to teach himself magic again. Living off the land for a time, he slowly built himself up from scratch, redefining himself and choosing not to dwell on the past but focus on the needs of the present. He is still haunted by vicious nightmares and his control of basic magic still feels dull and unwieldy in his hands, like a well-trained swordsman suddenly forced to use nothing but a halberd. Still, though he has found himself in an unfamiliar town in a strange land, through hard work and a bit of luck he remains confident that he will find his way. The truth of Mervin's past is a bit more complex. He was indeed once a powerful wizard from Ea, hailing from Letheon - but his life was far from simple. Mervin the Seeker was a brash and powerful battle mage whose machiavellian rise to power was a testament to how quickly one may rise when one cares only for great power. Course and calculating, his political machinations were often brilliantly executed and difficult for his rivals to outmaneuver, but won him little respect and he trampled many who got in his way. His rapid ascent was only halted by the outbreak of sudden war with the illithid forces. Arrogant and brave, he led an ill-fated attack against overwhelming odds early in the conflict, during which he pressed forward beyond his squad into the thick of the battle. Quickly surrounded and overcome, he was blasted by a psionic spell from an incredibly powerful illithid which obliterated most of his psyche. Having fallen, he was picked up by his enemies when they were canvassing for corpses. Considered broken beyond repair, his body was sold over the years to various slaver factions until finally he was unceremoniously dumped in the woods one day by a caravan driver who merely wished to lighten his load. At some point, an unknown benevolent creature took pity on this wretched soul and attempted to heal his addled mind. Though his body was repaired and miraculously some of his mind brought back, most of his memories are irreparably lost. His powerful magical knowledge all but gone, he has begun slowly re-teaching himself spells - although his new arsenal is slightly different than it used to be. Before, he wielded powerful orbs and used mainly ice magic, but now the simple practicality of staves has appealed to him, and he has focused mainly on fire and psychic spells. Occasionally, echoes of his old mastery escape his shaky hands - seemingly moved by a mind all their own. Previously a powerful battle mage, he was also a conniving elitist whose thirst for power knew no bounds. Since his "incident", as he calls it, he's become quite appreciative of the little things in life, and finds his magic doesn't always come into focus quite as he wishes. He is also haunted by memories that seem not to belong to him at all, but were somehow assembled in his mind from far-flung lands and times. Overall, he does quite admirably for one in his situation, although he is still prone to the occasional outbursts and rage that he, himself, does not fully understand. Although he's not sure why, Mervin remains deeply distrustful and sometimes outwardly hostile to all gith races. He also has an extreme reaction to any illithid, ranging from blinding anger to uncontrolled urination. Exploits Recently he managed to help kill a white dragon while investigating a problem in a mine on one of the newly revealed isles. Later, he accidentally fell through a barrel to end up halfway around the world. He reluctantly started running with a motley crew who seem to find trouble everywhere they look. After fighting (but not killing) another dragon, he set off to fight yet another dragon. Appearance and personality Age: not sure, probably late 40's Gender: Male Height: 5'4" Weight: 150 lb. Alignment: unaligned Personality: Disjointed, friendly, confident. Clearly smart but also clearly missing a few pieces. Physical Description: Mervin is a shorter-than-average human with long, scraggly gray hair that exhibits signs of male pattern baldness. His midsection is also a little larger than it seems he realizes it to be, especially given his pattern of dress. He tends to wear simple gray clothes that are purely functional, and can occasionally be caught muttering to himself. Background Benefit Mervin is from the Ea region, but has the background benefit: General -> Occupation Scholar -> +2 Arcana Hooks * Hook 1: Old "friends": Mervin had few friends and many enemies on Ea, none of which would be very happy to see him again. His "friends" were mostly co-conspirators whose own machinations would have eventually stabbed him in the back anyway, and his enemies hated him passionately with good reason. He has almost no memory of either, however, and is unlikely to recognize either through sight or mention. * Hook 2: Hatred of giths and illithids: Although he doesn't quite understand why, Mervin has an innate distrust for any gith race and will react very strongly when confronted with any illithid. Opportunities to confound any of these races will immediately garner his interest. * Hook 3: Someone is looking out for him: Mervin's recovery was facilitated by something powerful enough to undo tremendous psychic damage. Although it healed him as best it could, it never revealed itself to Mervin, for reasons unknown. For his part, Mervin simply counts his blessings and hasn't really looked into it. * Hook 4: Dreamer: Still haunted by dreams of his past, he occasionally sees pieces of different times or places. Sometimes he remembers these things when he wakes up; usually he does not. * Hook 5: Power-seeking: While Mervin has settled into the life he now has, a part of him is always still seeking sources of power, especially those that can boost his arcane abilities. Kicker * Ultimately, while he may be tempted, Mervin probably doesn't want his full memory restored. Show Math Ability Scores Attacks Defenses Saving Throw Bonuses: None Resistances: None Senses and Reactions Health Surges per Day 7 (Class 6 + Con 1) Speed and Movement Speed: 6 (Race 6 - Equipment 0) Racial Features Human * Bonus Feat * Bonus Trained Skill * Bonus At-Will Power * +1 Fort, Refl, Will * +2 to one Attribute * Size: Medium * Speed: 6 * Vision: Normal * Languages: Common + any 1 Class Features Wizard * +2 Will * Arcane Implement Mastery: Staff of Defense (1/enc +Con bonus to one Defense as an immediate interrupt) * Cantrips * Ritual Caster Feat * Spellbook (incl. 3 rituals, 2x daily and utility powers gained) * Additional rituals at certain levels (1, 5, etc.) Feats * Human: Armor Prof. (Leather) * 1st: Superior Implement Training (Accurate Staff) * 2nd: Dual Implement Spellcaster * 4th: Enlarge Spell * 5th: +1 L4W feat bonus to attacks house rule Skills and Languages Languages: Common, Draconic Powers Powers Known Wizard Cantrips Ghost Sound Mage Hand Light Prestidigitation At-Will - 1st Level Phantom Bolt Winged Horde Thunderwave Bonus Encounter - 1st Level Orbmaster's Incendiary Detonation Daily - 1st Level Flaming Sphere Horrid Whispers Encounter - 2nd Level Shield Float Encounter - 3rd Level Color Spray Daily - 5th Level Stinking Cloud Grasp of the Grave Other Encounter Staff of Defense Class Powers to Hit |Power02= |Power03= |Power04= |Power05= |Power06= |Power07= |Power08= }} Equipment Cash on hand: 1341 gp *'Normal Load:' 80 lb *'Heavy Load:' 160 lb *'Maximum Drag:' 400 lb Rituals * Comprehend Language (Arcana) * Tenser's Floating Disk (Arcana) * Brew Potion (Arcana) Wishlist * Staff of Ruin +2 (level 8) * Headband of Intellect (level 10) Tracking Treasure * 100 gp (starting gold) - 75 gp (level 1 expenses) = 25 gp * Spent 10 residuum in Lord Byron’s Economic Woes * other characters pitched in 6g for residuum in Lord Byron’s Economic Woes; 25 + 6 = 31 g * Gained 340g & Staff of Ruin +1 from Lord Byron’s Economic Woes; 31 + 340 = 371 g * Sold staff implement for 1g; 371 + 1 = 372 g * Gained 181 time gold from Lord Byron’s Economic Woes; 181 + 372 = 553 g * Gained 340 from Kane in Lord Byron’s Economic Woes; 553 + 340 = 893 g * bought Orb of Nimble Thoughts +1 for 680; 893 - 680 = 213 g * Gained 127 time gold from Land Ho!; 213 + 127 = 340 g * +127 time gold from Land Ho!; 340 + 127 = 467 g * +906 time gold from retiring Empathy; 467 + 906 = 1373 g * received Irrefutable leather armor +2, Amulet of protection +2, Gauntlets of Blood, Shard of the Mage, -37g from Land Ho!; 1373 - 37 = 1336 g * sold leather armor for 5g; 1336 + 5 = 1341 g XP * +1410 XP from Lord Byron’s Economic Woes * +1121 XP from Lord Byron’s Economic Woes * +304 XP from Land Ho! * +525 XP from Land Ho! * +848 XP from retiring Empathy * + 1968 XP from Land Ho! * Total: 6176 XP (Level 6: 7500) Changes * 10/11/10 - added rewards from Land Ho!; leveled to 5 * 9/1/10 - boosted from retiring Empathy * 7/25/10 - added rewards from Land Ho! * 7/1/10 - added rewards from Land Ho! * 4/20/10 - added rewards from Lord Byron's; leveled up to 3; retrained two feats due to PHB3 materials; bought orb * 3/22/10 - changed background benefit, bonus language, 40 arcana components to 40 residuum as part of "restructure before level 2", added equipment/XP from adventure, updated to level 2 Mini stat block for inclusion in combat posts Updated as necessary ministatsBCOLOR="DeepSkyBlue"Mervin/COLOR/B Male Human Wizard 3 Initiative: +8, Passive Perception: 13, Passive Insight: 18, Senses: Normal AC:22, Fort:17, Reflex:20, Will:18 HP:COLOR=White40/COLOR/40, Bloodied:20, Surge Value:10, Surges left:COLOR=White8/COLOR/8 Action Points/Milestones: COLOR=White1/COLOR/0 Powers:color=Green Phantom Bolt Winged Horde Thunderwave (Wizard cantrips)/color color=redOrbmaster's Incendiary Detonation Color Spray Shield Staff of Defense Second Wind Orb of Nimble Thoughts/color color=grayFlaming Sphere Stinking Cloud/color color=goldIrrefutable armor/color Important Stuff: Conditions: Full sheet: urlhttp://l4w.wikia.com/index.php?title=L4W:CS:Mervin_(evilbob)[/url][/sblock] Judge Comments Level 1 Approval 1 Approval from --renau1g Approval 2 Approved by ScorpiusRisk Level 2 Approval 1 Approval from --renau1g *Looks good evilbob Approval 2 Approval from TwoHeadsBarking: * Summary: Don't suppose I could convince you to add your feats and trained skills to your summary? * Summary: Please remove the "(Wis)" from Float and just leave the number. * Powers Known: Missing your second utility. * Tracking: The link and your summary says 1410 xp, but the XP section says 1420. Relatively minor, so approved. Level 3 Approval 1 Approved by ScorpiusRisk * Please replace See Below with actual information in the summary. The summary is there so people don't have to see below. * You should note somewhere that your Staff is your primary Implement. * Augmentable should be listed as a keyword on your orb. You should also list its augmentation, even though it doesn't apply to your character at this moment. This is dnd afteralll, things happen. Minor things. Approval 2 Approval from x Level 5 Approval 1 Approval from x Approval 2 Approval from x Status Level 1 Approved Status: Approved as 1st level character with 0 xp by renau1g and ScorpiusRisk. Level 2 Approved Status: Approved as 2nd level character with 1410 xp by renau1g and TwoHeadsBarking. Level 5 Waiting Approval Status: Approved as 5th level character with 6176 xp by x and x. Category:L4W Category:L4W:Requesting Approval